Posted by SLS on August 7, 2005, at 10:29:56
In reply to Re: Luvox withdrawal. Any advice? » SLS, posted by vitalsign0 on August 6, 2005, at 22:15:38
Hi.
I think you have the right idea. It is too bad that you don't have a way to split the pills into 6.25mg sections. Perhaps the 25mg tablets would be easier to work with. I haven't seen them, so I wouldn't know. If it were me, I would either nibble off little pieces as needed or break them up into little non-uniform pieces and segregate them into various sizes. Approximations are fine. Precision isn't necessary when the dosing periods remain flexible.
> I run my own business and it is really busy right now. It may not be the best time to try this.
I can certainly understand this. The nice thing about flexibility is that you know that you don't have to suffer the withdrawal syndrome any longer than you want to. The drug reaches peak concentration about an 3 hours after dosing. Once you feel the withdrawal symptoms appear, my guess is that you will feel relief within an hour of dosing. The half-life of Luvox is about 15 hours. This is sort of an intermediate value as antidepressants go. I would still look to dose 2-3 times a day. Ideally, you would want to use 6.25mg (1/4 25mg tablets) as you get closer and closer to total discontinuation. The last 25% of the original dosage can be the most difficult to navigate through. In other words, 12.5mg per day might be your sticking point unless you can find a way to use smaller doses. If you must, you can bite off small pieces of the tablet, or perhaps crush them into powder and add them to a glass of orange juice, drinking fractions of the glass in proportion to the dose you are seeking to use. There have been some pretty creative ways in which people have managed to create micro-doses for themselves. Again, precision of dose amount really isn't necessary. Approximations work well because the body tells you when it's time for the next dose.
I am going to be very interested to see how 12.5mg x 3 works out for you since 37.5mg x 1 allowed unacceptable symptoms to appear. My guess is that you may experience some insomnia for the first few nights. It would not go against the plan to take an extra 6.25mg before bed if by bedtime significant withdrawal symptoms appear. You would probably need to do this for a few days at most should it become necessary. It's not a race, right? You should do fine.
Please post reports as you proceed. I'll say a little prayer for you that this method works for you as well as it has worked for me and others. If it doesn't, there are alternatives. I will be sitting on the edge of my seat to learn what this new doctor offers you as options.
- Scott
poster:SLS
thread:537494
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/wdrawl/20050712/msgs/538658.html